While Nintendo can take heart from its continued lead in the Japanese charts, overall trends in the market remain a concern. The latest Media Create figures are in, and continue recent form of low sales in software and flat levels in hardware.

To begin with software, Level-5's Yo-kai Watch continues to impress, having topped the charts during the Holiday 'Golden Week' in Japan; it's a brand that, combined with the TV show, is gaining serious momentum. It leads ahead of Mario Golf: World Tour, which remains in second place after début sales of 49,889 physical retail units last week. Without a single new release numbers are poor — opening the door for some ageing titles, too — while there are three Wii U titles in the top 20 and a host of 3DS games; lifetime sales are in brackets.

The hardware results show drops across the board from the Golden Week equivalents. The 3DS LL (XL) is comfortably on top again, though there's grim reading for home consoles as a whole, all down to four figures. The Wii U's dip following an increase last week is, to look on the bright side, relatively modest; last week's sales are in brackets.

Level-5 is clearly onto a winner with Yo-kai Watch, one of multiple titles helping the 3DS remain at number one. The Japanese market is badly in need of new games, however, in order to boost struggling retail numbers.